——

  ——  ——  ——

  Song weaved between destroyed furniture and leapt through an open hole in the roof, forcing the roots to slow and adjust their course at an awkward angle.

  Every piece of shrapnel, every root, every burst of aura—he had no time to think about dodging them and could only trust where his body would take him next.

  There was no room for thought. No room for anger.

  He catapulted from the rooftop and feinted a direct strike at the ent. Sensing the roots doubling back, he aimed for a flying piece of debris and attempted to backflip onto the roof. The rubble exploded as the ent’s main body moved, punching at speeds faster than Song could move.

  He had milliseconds before he would be pulverized.

  The lily’s second petal turned red.

  「Step」

  He pushed off of the air itself, inadvertently creating a minor barrier that allowed him to backflip from the ent’s fist and back to the roof. He hadn’t used “ that way in true combat before, but he had no choice. Every fiber of his being knew instant death was lurking behind every action he took.

  The ent body-slammed the roof, collapsing more of the motel. Song ignored the shooting pain at the bottom of his foot and dashed for a sturdier location.

  Down below, Aidan focused on Allos’s metal gauntlet. He set his vest on the ground and lit it aflame with his ruby ring, then started rubbing the gauntlet with a bronze ring.

  “Keep me covered!”

  Allos prepared his shield, assisted by Sigurd bracing behind him. The healers trusted the defenders and continued their duties.

  Aidan began imbuing the gauntlet with the fire from his burning vest.

  “

  The ent emerged from the rubble and ran toward the group, so Song attempted to distract it with a physical strike.

  The monster was smarter than they thought.

  In the time it took Song to redirect himself, four of the roots expanded into a net and surrounded him.

  Aidan scraped the bronze ring faster, growing the flames around the metal and burning his hand.

  Song drew his blade and spun in the air, trying to slow the net's momentum.

  The two other roots, no longer being used to lift the ent up, curled into a thick spear and collided with Allos’s shield. Sigurd pushed against Allos’s back, but they were rapidly losing ground.

  Sigurd vaulted over the knight’s shoulder and pile drove the root spear at its three-quarters point. He put all of his strength into a grapple, filling the air with his iron-colored aura.

  When Aidan’s energy spike reached the ent, it closed half of its net prematurely and settled for sending Song crashing through a wall. With no roots available, it moved to stop the new threat with its own two hands.

  「Feast」

  “Now!” Aidan yelled.

  Allos, just before moving his shield aside, surged his mana through the molten gauntlet and sent it blasting forward. Their timing was perfect, giving the ent no time to dodge. The superheated metal missile plunged through the ent’s chest and smashed through the building behind it, its blazing impact lighting the surrounding bark on fire.

  Sigurd held strong to the two-root spear as the ent collapsed to the ground and retracted the four other roots. Before anyone could follow up to prevent it from healing itself, another magic circle appeared underneath the group and pushed them to the ground with extreme force.

  No one could stop the ent from knitting its wound together.

  Black liquid spewed from its “mouth” as it tried to speak:

  “

  Complex symbols lit up inside the expanding circle’s ring, sending blinding pain to everyone in the group.

  “…

  Sigurd took the heaviest dose of pressure, but refused to let go, dragging the roots even deeper into the ground with him.

  “—

  Allos’s armor dented inwards. Nayeli threw her body over Charon, the orb on her staff shattered. Maria desperately crawled and held a glowing page against Myrah’s chest.

  Glowing lines formed inside the monster’s pseudo-halo, prompting Aidan to regret setting such specific usage conditions on the knife sheathed behind his back.

  Every one of them realized they were about to die.

  Tires screeched.

  —”

  Half of the ent’s head exploded, destroyed by the bat swing of a woman flying through the air.

  Cassie landed on the ground and pivoted toward the ent, wide-eyed and wearing a full-faced grin.

  —Cassie, minutes earlier—

  Cassie stared at the glass vial filled with golden liquid.

  “These are the same Horizon wore in the beginning, you know,” Ki said, putting on the same brown-colored trench coat Cassie was wearing.

  They both grabbed the edge of the pickup truck as it accelerated across the deteriorating road.

  “Don’t forget Ben said they only offer limited protection,” Cassie said.

  “I know. You should drink that now before we get there, so it has time to get in.”

  “I’m trying to focus before the fight, you should be doing the same,” Cassie said.

  Ki looked away.

  It was partially true, but she was also conflicted. After Ben had tossed them a bandolier of vials and two trench coats, he told Cassie to stay behind for a second. Despite the emergency, He’d taken extra time to tell her to use the potion and coat.

  It was grating, being treated like she was just an adrenaline junky.

  “Sometimes you need assistance to push past your limits, and once you’ve pushed past them, you’ll be able to go farther—even without the assistance!” Ki said.

  “I’m not a baby,” Cassie said.

  The truck went completely off-road, rattling the toolbox attached to the side of the truck bed. Ki valiantly trying to hide her jitters by pressing down and fidgeting with her axe.

  Cassie downed the potion. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Ki smiling to herself.

  Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

  The stomach butterflies returned in force when they finally got within eyesight of the Motel. Cassie rolled her shoulders, trying to work out the sudden tension. Even with the coat’s innate resistance, the pressure coming from was in that area made her feel like she was wearing a backpack full of rocks. It was crystal clear that the nebulous “emergency” was now a life or death situation.

  The butterflies told Cassie that death seemed like the more likely scenario.

  Ki, wide-eyed, looked at Cassie. “D-…”

  “Do you feel that?”

  The engine sputtered.

  Cassie nodded, trying to keep a straight face. She tapped on the back window.

  Kossetsu opened it from the back. Cassie said, “Tell Ben: don’t stop, and swing the truck.”

  Without waiting for a response, Cassie crouched low and put a foot up against the right wall of the truck bed. Ki caught on and aligned herself similarly, though she kept both feet on the ground.

  Kossetsu yelled over the engine, “Ben says get him an opening!”

  The truck jerked and continued to lose speed as the battlefield revealed itself. Both women had to clench their jaws so they wouldn’t bite their tongues in shock from the carnage.

  Cassie sent magical energy down her foot.

  “HALO! HEAD—” Ben pulled the steering wheel sharply to the left.

  The level of urgency in his voice told everyone all they needed to know.

  ——  ——  ——

  Although it would be slower than Cassie, Ki knew her best bet was to let the truck’s momentum do most of the work. She flew through the air, tucking her shoulder and rolling upwards within range of the ent.

  Ki was skeptical when Cassie said it was important to know how to fall. Now, she was exceptionally grateful for the forced practice. It wasn’t perfect—she botched getting up and twisted her foot—but she wasn’t going to let a minor error stop her from using her first ever magical attack.

  Ki maintained her concentration through the entire action, perfectly timing her Edge’s summoning from the truck.

  The weapon landed in her outstretched hands mid-swing, filled with light-blue tracings.

  Instead of creating a calm lake in her mind, Ki froze the waves as they churned.

  「Glacier」!

  She swung upwards with all of her might, creating a mountain of ice at the feet of the ent. The ice erupted outwards in an angled line that froze everything within thirty feet. Most importantly, she encased the ent in ice from the neck-down.

  While Ki tried to recover from the all-out effort she’d put into her attack, Cassie wrapped her unbroken bat in another bubble.

  Ben took advantage of the time bought by the two women, reaching the ent on foot while it was still frozen. He pulled the pin on a crystalline grenade filled with glittering dust and threw it at the unmoving target’s head—and halo.

  The ent’s unfrozen body parts disappeared in an explosion of pure white energy.

  Ki and Cassie grinned at each other.

  ———

  After the truck narrowly avoided flipping, Kossetsu broke into a dead sprint at the sight of his sister on the ground. His thoughts on triaging patients had gone out the window.

  Myrah would always be his first choice.

  The circle faded by the time he reached the group and allowed him entry. While everyone tried to stand, Kossetsu caught sight of Myrah’s hand.

  She was giving him a thumbs-up.

  Her gesture turned into a point that directed Kossetsu to Nayeli, who was frantically trying to apply pressure to her bleeding patient.

  The old Kossetsu would have frozen in place.

  The new Kossetsu slapped himself while running and went to Charon’s side.

  Nayeli stared wide-eyed at the masked man.

  “It’s okay, I’ve fixed worse,” he said, gently replacing Nayeli’s hands.

  He deafened himself and began healing.

  ———

  “SHIT!” Ben yelled.

  A terror-inducing screech cracked the ice and blew away the explosion’s smoke.

  The combatants stared in disbelief as the remaining portion of the ent’s head emerged from its body, and the surviving root attempted to curl into a new halo.

  “INCOMING!” Allos cried, shuffling to defend against five ents approaching from the Mugen Mori.

  The ice could fully break at any moment; there would be no chance to plan.

  If they wanted to win, each available fighter would have to make the correct decision on their own.

  Cassie, thanks to her instincts, and Ki, thanks to her curiosity, responded first.

  Time slowed down as they ran by one another. Primal fear worse than the bear encounter was attempting to drag them down, but each woman’s determination added more than enough fuel to the other’s confidence.

  Cassie despised losing to the same thing twice. The screech hurt, but rather than panic again, her body surged its flow of mana upwards. She immediately took the hint and generated two small force bubbles inside her ear canals. From there, Cassie guided the mana flow into her bat and moved to attack.

  Ki had taken advantage of the ambient coldness coming from her body. Last night, during a meditation session on the pond, Ki something flying at her. For the briefest of moments, her aura touched the insect and allowed her to freeze it. Her adrenaline and focus skyrocketed when she felt the actual life force of the bug, giving her the temporary control to stop before she went too far. When she’d opened her eyes, the approaching butterfly managed to end its forced descent and fly away.

  The pain from the first scream was also an excellent teacher, making Ki consider other potential applications.

  When the ent let out its cry, she the sound waves pushing through the cold before she actually heard them. She couldn’t actually freeze the sound, but her reaction was enough to freeze her ear canals and mitigate the noise.

  Ki had less power available and knew Cassie would go for the kill, so she ran to the twisted roots being held down by the dwarf fighter.

  Both Ki and Cassie were inches away from landing their strikes when the ice shattered.

  Sigurd managed to hold the thrashing roots still, but paid a heavy price as thorns sprung out and pierced his body.

  Ki was blasted forward by a shockwave. Stumbling, she stretched out and threw her entire body behind a strike that cleaved the roots in half.

  Glittering mist trailed her as she crashed face-first into broken concrete.

  Before Cassie’s eyes could process the ice breaking, the air shook and her target moved just out of range. Instead of hitting the ent’s head, her bat collided with a bark shield on the monster’s enlarged arm.

  The shield was no match for Cassie’s magic and broke apart, sending cracks down the arm, but her success was short-lived. Her bat shattered in her hands as the ent swatted her across the parking lot.

  CLANG

  Her body slammed into a section of railing and fell limp.

  In the same motion as its attack on Cassie, the ent split its arm in half and punched Ki as she was rebounding off the ground, sending her tumbling in front of Aidan.

  Aidan continued his chant, lightning crackling around him.

  ————

  After warning the others of the incoming ents, Allos moved without hesitation.

  Allos put his trust in the new fighters and the intense heat emanating from Aidan, who’d begun another ritual. Allos rematerialized his shield in front of a lesser ent, then sent his remaining gauntlet flying at another.

  He caught sight of his own hands and stopped moving.

  The blue skin stood out in the daylight even more, bringing back a rush of memories he’d locked away long ago. He lost control of his breathing inside his knight’s helmet, and sweat blocked his vision.

  A great clang drew his attention and he turned—just in time to see Cassie go limp and Ki rag dolled on the ground. The ent worked to finish its repairs, and its only nearby threat, Sigurd, was struggling to stand.

  A streak of lightning flashed from Aidan as he created a fiery magic circle, but Allos didn’t notice. He was looking up at the tidal wave of panic about to consume him.

  A far away voice whispered something to Allos through his other gauntlet.

  always knew what to say.

  Clenching his fist, Allos willed his gauntlet over to Sigurd. It fell short, but the whispering voice was already on the move, half-scooping the molten weapon and shuffling it to the dwarf. Even the lightest touch was risky, but Song was willing to do whatever it took to win this fight.

  He managed to stay standing despite his battered body and the steam rising from his left hand. At the same time, Sigurd bit down on a piece of broken wood and molded the red-hot gauntlet around his hand.

  Song, currently weaponless, smiled and moved between Allos’s sight line and the ent.

  Even with a large distance between them, Allos got the message loud and clear:

  His best friend had left his prized possession behind, and strangers were putting their lives on the line.

  What was he doing?

  He heard a cracking sound behind him, and he realized only three lesser ents were being held back by his iron blockade.

  He wasn’t going to make it in time.

  A red oni girl decided to fill the gap.

  ———

  Xia had been watching the fight from behind the truck like she’d promised Ki. Whether it was Ki and Cassie being badasses or Kossetsu looking like a hero, she’d loved every minute.

  But why was everyone celebrating—didn’t they realize the ent was hiding its presence?

  Xia choosing to remain tense and focused, even while the situation spiraled out of control, saved Kossetsu’s life.

  Seeing that the knight had missed two of the tree monsters, she broke out into a sprint. Fear—fear of her “curse”, fear of losing her friends, even fear of death—tried to stop her, but it was met with equal force by images of her friends.

  Xia thought,

  She reached out her hand, sending a cloud of red mist at the closest enemy. Moments before the tree monster struck Kossetsu, the cloud became a shadowy swarm of crimson rats that toppled the ent.

  The second monster used the first as a shield and tried to finish the job. Out of breath and unable to even throw herself in front of the blow, Xia reached out for Kossetsu and prayed.

  She felt a thread in her mind reach out and touch Kossetsu. He opened his eyes and grabbed at the ent about to strike him—while keeping a hand on his injured patient. A thin crack at the point of contact became a canyon that ripped across the ent’s body and collapsed it into a pile of firewood. Both lesser ents dissolved into nothing.

  Something set off the knight, who ripped his helmet off. The oni then went to work destroying the other three monsters.

  “Talk about how cool we were later?” Xia asked.

  “Deal, stay right by me!” Kossetsu returned to Charon.

  Ben entered their sight, and energy continued to surge from Aidan.

  —Aidan—

  Aidan started pooling his remaining mana and readied himself the instant Ki entered the battlefield.

  He touched the handle of the knife sheathed against his back.

  When the ice cracked, a jolt of electricity made his heart skip a beat.

  Doing this would make him the biggest target, but…

  Chaos.

  Ki crashed into the ground in front of him.

  He looked at her bloodied visage and almost released the “lock” around his knife early. He took a deep breath and continued the chant. If he didn’t use a companion spell, he was likely to kill everyone in the area.

  Song unsuccessfully tried stabbing the ent’s halo with its own root spear, while Sigurd and the ent’s fist collided in a thunder-like boom.

  While Aidan the others would realize to get behind him, his main concern was the members of his party. He tried not to think about the fact he was also Cassie would survive the blast.

  He started to place killing intent behind the magic, turning the magic circle surrounding him blue and kickstarting the final chain of events.

  Ki realized first. She threw her coat straight up and blocked Aidan’s vision. Ki’s axe clattered to the ground as an ice pillar surged out from underneath her and sent her flying.

  Before clearing out of Aidan’s attack zone, Song whispered something and ran around the ent. Sigurd used the distraction to wrap his body around one of the ent’s arms.

  The ent kept punching, but Sigurd used his armored hand to absorb the blows.

  Another ice pillar appeared, slamming into Ki’s side and abruptly pinballing her flailing body to Cassie.

  His vision flashed white from restraint.

  Sigurd loosened his grapple and let the ent send him soaring over Aidan’s head.

  Ki, Cassie, and another glacier of ice suddenly went crashing through a second-floor motel room.

  The ent was about to strike.

  ————

  ————

  The circle disappeared in a haze of runic symbols. Aidan drew the knife, snapping the three rings at the base of his blade.

  He swung and unleashed thirty years worth of stored energy.

  「」

  —— —— ——

  How do you feel about the story's line/paragraph spacing?